Electrode holder



g- F. s; MILLER I 2,293,159

ELECTRODE HOLDER Filed Sept. 29, 1941 7 79. 2 If 40 1/ 10 l Patented Aug. 18, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRODE HOLDER Ford S. Miller, Lancaster, N. H., assignor to M. L. B. Manufacturing Company, Hollywood, Calif., a corporation of California Application September 29, 1941, Serial No. 412,698

6 Claims.

er in which the current-carrying parts are thoroughly electrically insulated to prevent injury to the operator from flashes and arcs.

Another object is to provide a particularly simple and speedy locking mechanism for locking an electrode in the holder.

Other more specific objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description to follow, which refers to the drawing of a particular embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through an elec trode holder in accordance with the invention, the holder being shown in closed, or electrodeclamping, position;

-Fig. 2 is a side elevation, with certain parts broken away, the view showing the holder in open, or electrode-releasing position;

Fig. 3 is a cross section in the plane III-III of Fi 1; and

Fig. 4 is a cross section in the plane IV-IV of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawing, the holder comprises a metal frame member formed of sheet metal and being of substantially tubular shape at its forward ,end H and of trough shape at its rear end 12. The extreme rear end portion is tapered down to a narrow tail i3. A bridge member M interconnects the two sides of the trough-shaped portion of the frame substantially at the middle thereof, and serves to reinforce a fiber handle H, which completely encloses the rear half of the frame. The fiber handle is secured to the frame lit by screws 16.

At the extreme forward end ll of the frame, the latter is joined to a tubular nose H, which extends therefrom at an angle. The tubular parts may be joined together by welding, as indicated at l8 in Fig. 2. The electrode-clamping mechanism is contained within the noseil.

Thus, referring to Fig. 1, an electrode'socket I9 is positioned within the nose I! and supported in electrically insulated relation thereto by a pair of insulating sleeves and 2|.

The socket I! has a longitudinal hole therein dimensioned to receive a welding electrode 22,

and the latter is locked in place by a locking pin 23 which extends through an aperture .provided therefor in the underside of the socket 19, the bushing 29, and the nose ll. When the tool is in condition for use, the pin 23 is pressed tightly against the electrode 22 to lock it in the socket l9, but the pin is retracted when it is desired to change electrodes.

The mechanism for actuating the pin 23 includes a pair of toggle links 24 and 25, respectively, which are hinged together by a pin 26. When the toggle members 24 and 25 are substantially aligned with each other, as in Fig, 1, the

pin 23 is pressed against the electrode 22, and when the toggle links are broken, as shown in Fig. 2, the locking pin 23 is retracted to permit the change of electrodes.

The toggle member 24 has an eye 21 through which the pin 26 passes, and the eye 21 fits between a pair of metal strips 28 (Fig. 3) which comprise the frame of the toggle link 25.

The plates 28 straddle a tongue 29 secured to the frame 10 and projectingthrough a slot provided therefor in the insulating handle 15, and the plates 28 and the tongue 29 are hingedly connected together by a pin 30, so that when the toggle is broken, as shown in Fig. 2, the member 25 swings about the member 30 as a pivot. To provide a comfortable grip for the operator, the plates 28 are enclosed in a slotted sleeve 31 of insulating material, such as fiber. It may be secured in place by the ends of the pins 26 and 3a It is desirable to provide for accurate adjustment of the length of the link 24 between the pin 26 and the locking pin 23. To this end, the link 24 includes two members screwed together. Thus the rear member, which is hinged to'the pin 28, constitutes a bolt having threads 34 thereon, which screw into threads in a metal sleeve 35, the latter being permanently secured to the locking pin 23. A fiber handle 36 may be provided on the sleeve 35 to facilitate adjust ment, since the metal parts adjacent the electrode sometimes get quite hot in service.

The screw thread connection between the members 34 and 35 permits very accurate adjustment of the position of the pin 23 when the tool is in electrode-clamping position, so that the force will always be ample to not only mechanically hold the electrode in the socket, but insure good electrical connection between the electrode and the socket.

In order'to insulate the metal members 3|, 35 and 28 from the welding electrode, the lock- 5 ing pin 23 is insulatingly supported in the forward end of the sleeve 35. Thus the rear end of the pin 23 and the forward end of the sleeve 35 have a slight taper, and a tapered insulating from dropping out of the end of the nose l'l by an insulating washer 38, which is secured in place by a screw cap 39 threaded onto the nose IT. Current is supplied to the socket I9 through an insulated cable 40, which extends through the hollow handle l5 and is connected to the socket l9 by a connecting element 4|. The latter has a tapered end 42 adapted to fit snugly into a tapered hole provided therefor in the upper end of the socket is. The rear end 43 of the connector 4| istapered and provided with screw threads for making electrical and physical connection to the stranded wires 44 of the cable 40. Thus the tapered, threaded end 43 is screwed into the stranded core 44, while the latter is supported against spreading by a metal sleeve 45, the sleeve being preferably tapered to in crease the wedging action. The connector 4| is secured to the cable conductor by means of the sleeve 45 before assembly into the tool, Therefore the sleeve 45 is wrapped with a thin, heat-resisting, insulating tape and pushed through the handle |5 until the tapered forward end 42 of the connector 4| is wedged into the tapered hole provided therefor in the socket l9.

To faciltiate removal of the tapered pin 42 from the socket l9, apertures 46 are provided in the bushing 20 and the nose H, in alignment with the connector 4|, so that the latter can be dislodged from the socket by means of a punch inserted through the apertures 46.

The tool can be readily adjusted to 'handle electrodes of smaller diameter than the hole in the socket l9, by turning the adjusting sleeve 36 to vary the length of the forward toggle link 24.

When the tool is in closed position, as shown in Fig. 1, the axis of the pin 26 is slightly above a line connecting the axis of pin 30 with the forward end of the locking pin 23 so that the longitudinal pressure between the electrode and the locking pin tends to retain the link member 24 in closed position. Furthermore, it is retained in this position during use by virtue of the fact that the operator grasps both the handle l5 and the link member 25 in his hand during a welding operation.

To facilitate breaking the toggle connection when it is desired to change electrodes, the ham-- dle 3| is extended rearwardly beyond the hinge 30 and the upper side of the rear end of the an arc. This enables using the tool with very short electrodes and effects a substantial saving in the number of electrodes necessary.

Although for the purpose of explaining the invention a particular embodiment thereof hashollow handle adapted to receive an electric cable, frame meansextending forwardly from said handle and at least partially enclosing said cable, said frame means having an opening in the extreme forward end thereof for reception .of an electrode, an electrode socket within said frame means, electrical insulating means supporting said socket within said frame means and electrically insulating it from said frame means, and

means for locking an electrode in said socket.

2. A device as described in claim 1, in which the forward end of said frame means is bent downwardly, whereby an electrode extending from the end thereof extends at a substantial angle to saidhandle, registering openings in said frame means and said socket on the under side thereof, said means for locking an electrode in said socket comprising a pair of toggle members hinged together, one of said toggle members comprising a locking pin extending through said openings in said frame means and said socket for engaging an electrode in said socket, the other toggle member being pivotally con neoted to the underside of said handle adjacent the rear end thereof. v Y

3. An electrode handle comprising a channelshaped, metal frame member, a tubular handle of insulating material enclogiw rear portion of said channel shaped frame member, said channel shaped frame member merging into a tubular section at the forward end, a tubular electrode socket concentrically positioned within the tubular portion of said frame member, insulating sleeve means supporting said electrode socket in said frame member, and insulating it therefrom, registering apertures in the undersides of said socket and insulating sleeve means.

' the two elements, and handle means for shiftin handle-3| is beveled topermit movement of the link into the open position shown in Fig. 2. .By .virtue of the fact that the rear portion of the handle 3| extends rearwardly of the pin 30,- the operator can snap the toggle links into electrode-releasing position by pressure of the fingers against the rear portion of the handle 3|.

To facilitate screwing the connector 4| into the end of the cable, its midportion is flattened as indicated in Fig. 4.

The construction whereby the metal frame of the holder is electrically insulated from the welding circuit has the advantage that the frame can come in contact with. the work without drawin said sleeve longitudinally to actuate said locking pm. I

4. An electrode holder comprising an openended, tubular metal frame, a tubular insulating bushing insertable through the open end of said frame, an electrode socket insertable into said tubular bushing through the open end of said frame, an insulating washer insertable into the open end of said frame for retaining said tubular bushing and said socke t in place, and a' closure member detachably secured to the 0 f1 end of I said frame for maintaining said tubular bushing,

said socket.and said insulating washer in said frame.

5. An electrode holder comprising a metal frame having a front end from which an electrode is adapted to project, and a rear end from which a current-supply cable is adapted to project, an electrode socket insertable into the front end 01' said frame, means for insulatingly supporting it in said frame, and connecting means adaptedto be secured to the end of a cable exterior of said frame and insertable through the rear end of said frame into conducting relation with said socket.

6. An electrode holder as described in claim 5,

in which said socket member has a tapered hole therein and said connector member has a tapered pin portion adapted to be fitted into said tapered hole'in said socket to complete electrical connection between said connector and socket.

FORD S. MILLER. 

